


Blood & Silver

by OliveYou



Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: Alternate Universe - Vampire, Alternate Universe - Werewolf, F/M, OH WELL YOU DESERVE IT, Olive Hates Endings, Olive Hates Summaries, Olive Hates Titles but Luckily She Thought of One Beforehand, Vampires, Werewolves, YOU DA BEST, also sorry got really rushed towards the end, and now i can start tagging, and quite darker than my normal stuff, but hopefully you will like it, but nothing serious, go me, hisssss, i hate everything apparently, okay i think i should stop now?, thanks jani, there are -passing- mentions of blood, this is entirely my fault and very self-indulgent, vampire!Leo, vampire!nohr, wait i already said that, werewolf!hoshido, werewolf!sakura, which is my favorite part, with lots of help from fabu discord friends
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-04
Updated: 2016-12-04
Packaged: 2018-09-06 08:46:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,301
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8743207
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OliveYou/pseuds/OliveYou
Summary: "For one terrifying moment, he looks poised, ready to strike, and Sakura feels her resolve slipping, fear closing in around her-"
In which vampires exist, and Sakura is too selfless for her own good.





	

**Author's Note:**

> it's finally up! thanks to everyone on discord and whatnot for helping me revise this :)  
> this has got to be one of the longest things I've written, 3000+ words wow

_Nohrians_.

Takumi would say-often and loudly-that they’re a bunch of no-good _scum_ who think they’re _so_ special, with their _stupid_ pale skin and weird clothes, and why did Kamui think this was a _good_ idea? They’re _worthless_ , every _one_ of them-but Sakura thinks otherwise.

She watches them, sometimes, in a moment of peace or quiet, and they’re… different, but not _bad_. Everything from their strangely pale skin to their slightly sunken eyes screams _sick, unnatural_ from her medical training, but she feels there’s something beneath the surface.

(It all seems like an old, dark secret only revealed at midnight, without moonlight or candles. Ancient and mysterious, like shadows or campfire stories, and she’s too young and scared to ask, but too curious to give up.)

And all at once, she finds an answer.

“ _Vampires_ ,” Takumi snarls, during a particularly heated war meeting, and the whole crowd recoils. “That’s what you all are. _Leeches_ , draining our resources, and doing _nothing_ in return.”

Sakura’s mouth drops.

_Of course_. Pale skin, aversion to sun, that time when Joker almost died from a piece of garlic and just how many times has she seen them eat? _Vampires_.

But he’s _kidding_ , and she knows she shouldn’t take it literally, because vampires don’t _exist_ -except, she knows that’s not true, because mother spoke about magic running through their veins, and silver weapons have always scared her, and nobody’s told him off, said he’s _wrong_ -

“Well. Look who finally figured it out.”

Leo’s deadpan serious and yet sarcasm laces his words, saying; “Honestly. I thought Kamui would’ve told you, but apparently… not.”

The white-haired girl in question blushed, smiling sheepishly. “Y-Yeah… Sorry. Um. I just thought… you would’ve told them yourselves. But I guess we’re not there yet, yeah?”

“Wait, what?” Now it’s Takumi’s turn to be confused; he looks blankly from one person to another, completely lost. “I… I was just… Are you _serious_?”

“Yes,” Leo says, smirking. “Haven’t you heard the stories? Nohr has always been home to vampires. Especially in the royal family.”

“B-but…” Takumi seems to be losing steam, then flares up again. “So it _is_ true! I _did_ see you drink-”

“Yes, we apologize,” Xander puts in, and Ryoma nods. “I should have explained. Prince Ryoma and I have been discussing how to break it to the rest of the army, but it is as Leo has said-many Nohrians, specifically the royal family, are or retain vampire blood. Not all, but it is common to find one or two in your legion or militia. Most of them serve in the army, to protect the general public and to feed the vampires themselves. War is a bloody thing, and it ensures a healthy environment for many of them.”

“Including us.” Camilla smiles dangerously, and many of the Hoshidians shy away, as her teeth are indeed quite pointy. “But don’t worry. We’ll take good care of you, so please, don’t be scared.”

“R-right.” Takumi doesn’t look so convinced, and Elise’s toothy smile does not help the matter. “I’ll… remember that.”

“And we must apologize as well.” Ryoma clears his throat, and the room goes silent again. “Many of the old stories and myths surrounding Hoshido are most likely _wrong_ , but our mother and father both told us of our family’s ancestry.”

“Hey, wait-” Takumi tries to protest, but Hinoka glares at him and he shuts up.

“We are werewolves.”

-

Werewolves, in the sense of the word that doesn’t contain any hunger for flesh, or bloody rampages, or animalistic traits-shapeshifters, with the takeaway of being rather wild around the full moon. And a weakness against silver. Sakura has always hated silver, and fortunately the silver chopsticks were sold and the forks and knives thrown out.

Werewolves, with fangs and claws and all, but absolutely no fur in human form-though Takumi once wished for some in the winter, during a brutal training session-and, well, the siblings were always rather good at restraining themselves. It’s good etiquette. Nobody wants to wake up with blood on their fingers and dead bodies all around them.

_Werewolves_ , and Sakura is possibly the least scariest werewolf in existence.

Leo says as much when they meet next, in the small library filled with strategy books and fairytales.

“Not to be rude, but you don’t seem very threatening for a werewolf.”

“Y-yes… I guess I’m n-not too scary at all, huh?” Sakura mumbles shyly, not sure whether to look at his eyes or the floor, shuffling her feet and twisting her fingers together. “Takumi… T-Takmui says I’m l-like… a little d-dog. A l-little, f-fluffy wolf d-dog.”

“Interesting,” he comments, grabbing a book from the shelf and tucking in under his arm; “do you remember anything as a wolf, or is it a comatose-like state of sorts?”

“U-um… not really. I-It’s very blank, though s-sometimes I can r-remember little bits… a-and it’s easier w-when I shapeshift voluntarily.”

“Ah. So… if you don’t have memories, then how do you know to return to human form?”

“I-I’m… not sure? It’s just sorta… h-happens…”

“So maybe you do have memories, or a consciousness, but when you return your mind deletes them, in a fashion.”

“I… g-guess…” She looks up to meet his eyes, unsure, but he smiles a bit, and she nervously smiles back. She’s still not at ease around the prince, but it’s better. A little more relaxed.

“I’d love to ask you more questions, if that’s all right with you.” He’s off again, and she returns to her feet.

“M-maybe later? I-I have things to d-do…”

“Understood. We’ll talk later.” He bows, leaving her alone in the library, surrounded by books, and she suddenly feels uneasy.

-

“…you’ve been looking pale lately.”

“…can’t help that these Vallites aren’t exactly _sustaining_...”

“Agreed. Not easily…”

“And what else could we feed on? …not them, they’re _werewolves_ …”

“What, are they poisonous?”

_Sustaining? Feed? Poison?_ Sakura presses herself against the wall, blushing hard and heart beating fast, searching for an explanation. It’s true that the Vallites don’t give much in the way of nutrition, blood or otherwise, but surely they wouldn’t turn on their own allies… even if they _are_ talking about her family like that… Nohr and Hoshido have always been enemies, but that’s changed… Right?

But they have to drink, somehow. Maybe… no, of course not… She couldn’t-

“Good morning.”

She jumps, spinning around to meet him, and immediately notices his (almost) completely _white_ skin, gaunt cheekbones, and-well, he looks _horrible_. He must be suffering just as much as the rest of them.

“G-g-good morning.” She greets him politely, her eyes not leaving his sunken, dark ones, and bites her lip. “A-are you doing okay?”

“Hm? Ah. Well, I’m not doing good, but…” He shrugs. “I’ve been through worse. We’ll be fine.”

_Fine after you suck our blood? Or fine after...?_ She forces those thoughts away, focusing on the present, and not the dark voices inside her head-she _can_ trust them, and she _will_.

“And you?”

“Huh? I-I‘m good. The full moon’s in a little w-while, so I’ll have t-to get ready f-for that… but otherwise, I’m f-fine.”

“Good to hear. It would be quite interesting to see you transform. Do you think I could watch?”

“U-um, maybe? I’m n-not sure…” She trails off, and Leo nods. “B-but if you need anything, j-just ask m-me. I’ll try to help h-however I c-can.” He raises an eyebrow, but says nothing except “goodbye”, and leaves promptly after.

She feels a little lonely, a little disappointed, but quickly reminds herself that she can’t help him anyway, so there’s no need to feel sad.

Except.

Except… maybe she can.

-

Sakura glances up at the waxing moon, becoming fuller and fuller by the day, and shivers. Nights at camp are always cold and creepy, and the reminder of her “curse” doesn’t help things. Only a few more weeks until full moon, and she’ll have to start making preparations for the others soon.

Her thin nightgown flutters in the wind and she pulls her blanket a little closer around her shoulders, making her way to the Nohrian’s barracks. The grass is soft but freezing under her feet and she tries to move as quickly as possible, towards the warmth.

She is soon face to face with the castle doors; she pushes on them and they open rather silently, and she scurries down the halls.

“E-excuse me? I-It’s Sakura… P-princess Sakura.”

“Come in.”

She does.

The room is dark and she has to squint to distinguish shapes from walls, but luckily it’s warmer than outside and her feet are no longer numb.

“Sorry, I usually keep the curtains closed.”

She squeaks, whirling around to the source of the noise (Behind her? Beside her? _Inside_ her?) and Leo appears-literally _materializes_ from the shadows-right in front of her. “O-oh! S-sorry…”

“No need to apologize. I wasn’t expecting visitors at this hour. I hope I didn’t scare you too badly,” he replies, walking over to the curtains and pulling them open. “Is this better?”

“Y-yes. Thank you.” She mumbles. He blinks at her.

“So. Why are you here? Do you need something? A book, maybe? I have several good volumes on the history of vampires and other creatures, if you’d like-”

“-N-no. I just… w-wanted to ask a few questions.”

“Ah.” Leo pulls out a chair, but she declines.

“I-It’ll be short, I p-promise.”

“I don’t mind talking,” he assures her, but she just shakes her head. She wants to get this over with, do what she came to do and get back into her warm bed as soon as possible.

“S-so. The first one is… d-does it have to b-be… h-h-human-”

“-blood?” He finishes, and she blushes. “Yes, unfortunately. Drink any sort of animal blood, and you’ll fade away. Return to the shadows, in a romantic sense.”

“A-ah… okay. Um, so… c-can you shapeshift? Like us?” He shakes his head. She shuffles her feet. “A-and... oh, please d-don’t laugh… are you r-really _that_ allergic to garlic?”

Leo smirks, amused. “Oh, you saw that? Yes, we react quite violently to it. Not very pretty, is it?” She nods, flushed, and giggles at the memory. Joker almost died from suffocation, his throat and face blotchy for weeks after, and Felicia was banned from kitchen duty for a month. A very dramatic end to dinner, to be sure. Nobody touched their soup again.

“And…” She plays with the hem of her nightdress thoughtfully, trying to find the best way of putting it. “How long… How long c-can you go without b-blood?

“Four weeks.” He answers smartly. He must get questions like this a lot, she thinks, and swallows nervously.

“So… h-h-how l-long-”

“A month. Give or take a few days.” He sighs, and the moonlight highlights the edges of his face, throws his white skin into even greater relief. “…The truth is, I can’t last much longer. This is why we have retainers, you know. Basically a backup plan. But I’ve taken from Odin enough, he’s been under a lot of pressure and I don’t want to overexert him-”

“So drink mine.”

The resulting silence is deafening.

“What?”

“Drink my blood,” she repeats, pulling the neckline of her gown down just enough to reveal her collarbone-he stares, almost hungrily, at the curve of her neck and she quickly folds her hands behind her back to hide their shaking.

“You can’t be serious.” His eyes don’t leave her throat but she resolutely tries to keep her voice steady.

“I-I am.”

He tears his eyes away at last, meeting hers with a frown. “Don’t be ridiculous. You’re not even human. You can’t… You don’t… I’m… not…”

For one terrifying moment, he looks poised, ready to strike, and Sakura feels her resolve slipping, fear closing in around her-and Leo snaps his eyes away, looking guiltily at the floor.

“I don’t want to hurt-”

“-and I don’t want you to d-d-die,” she swallows again, willing her body to stay in one place and not run far, far away from people with fangs and dangerous eyes- “You’re g-going to if nobody d-does anything. I’ve seen how p-powerful you are. W-w-we need you.” He turns pink, and she knows he’s slipping (judging from where his eyes keep drifting to).

“Are you sure?” he asks finally, and she’s not sure whether to feel happy or terrified. Maybe both. But this is her job, to secure the health of all her allies-and she’s gotten this far-so she nods firmly and forces the fear back down her throat.

“D-d-doctor’s orders.” She tries for a smile and doesn’t completely succeed, but he nods grimly.

“I want you tell me if I’m taking too much, all right?” She shivers, nodding. He cracks a half-smile, licking his lips absentmindedly, and mutters something that sounds a lot like “and I’m finally going to know what werewolf blood tastes like, take that Niles” under his breath.

He lets her down gently.

Carefully, slowly, softly-it’s nothing more than a whisper of teeth against her skin and a contented sigh as his fangs sink into her neck, just enough to draw blood-and once they do, the pain is quickly done away with, just the lightest of touches and then nothing at all.

(His lips are warm and she catches herself thinking _this, this is how vampires say “I love you”_.)

It’s all so peacefully detached and euphoric, the only reminder of how strange of a situation this is by the soft ebb and flow of her blood, the heat of his lips on her cold neck; and slowly, ever so softly, she can feel herself weaken, her vison blur, her legs beginning to give-he wraps an arm around her waist, weaving his fingers through her hair, greedily pressing himself closer and everything is so, _so fuzzy_ -

Her hands won’t work. Her arms are limp, her legs useless-she can’t move, she needs to but she _can’t_ , it’s getting harder and harder to breathe and she struggles to keep her eyes open, struggles to stay awake- her fingers dig into his arm, she tries to scream-

-and all at once, he wrenches himself away, rasping his tongue over her throat for good measure, taking a shaky breath and closing his eyes.

She collapses onto the floor.

It is only sometime after-she may have fainted for a little while-when he is standing over her, running his fingers through her hair, looking at her with what can only be described as a “ _dreamy_ _smile_ ”, that she realizes _she did it._

“Did it work?”

He seems surprised, but nods. “Yes. It’s…” He licks his lips experimentally, and exhales. “Sweet? Different, but… good. Very…”

His eyes turn glassy, unfocused, and she notes that she is no longer on the floor, but on his bed. Thankfully, the feeling in her limbs has begun to return and her fingers are no longer numb. There is still a haze on the edges of her vision, though, so she does not attempt to sit up.

“How are you feeling?”

“A-alright…” she stares up at the ceiling, and it occurs to her that it’s probably quite late and she needs to get back to her own room. She still makes no moves to get up.

“You seem a little drowsy…” His voice is a little faraway, and it takes a bit of concentration to reply.

“I’m… ffffine…” She attempts to keep her eyes open but her numbness has returned, full force, and he frowns. “I’ve… been through… this b-b-before…”

Instantly, the room drops fifty degrees.

Leo turns to her, eyes cold and voice razor-sharp, his words radiating icy fury.

_“You’ve been through what before?”_

‘’O-oh… you know…” Sakura shivers; suddenly, she feels very much awake. “I’ve… g-given my blood t-t-to a f-few others…”

“ _Vampires?”_ She nods, and he grabs her shoulders, digging his fingernails into her skin. “Which others? _Who_?”

“U-um… Nyx? She looked s-so sad... and she was so n-nice about it…” Leo sighs, loosening his grip just slightly, but she’s not done yet. “And, u-um, X-Xander? H-he-Ah!”

“ _Xander_?” He hisses. She nods again, whimpering at the sudden change in mood. He ignores her, cursing slightly under his breath and practically _squeezing_ her shoulders to death. “I can’t believe this… Ah, I’m sorry.” He drops his hands and she lets out a breath she didn’t know she was holding. “I… should have explained this beforehand. I am truly sorry for being so sudden. You see, vampires are possessive creatures by nature, and… well, it’s like this.” He clears his throat, shifting to look at her directly.

“Say a vampire-any vampire-feeds off of you. Now, they “own” a piece of you-your blood. Or, at the least, _claimed_ your blood as theirs… claimed _you_ , even, as their blood host. Many vampires are highly protective of their claims, as most prefer fresh blood, and they keep one or two humans around as blood hosts full-time. We get attached. We get selfish. We get… well, some can even become addicted to their host’s blood and refuse all else.”

“O-oh… And s-so-”

“You’ve become a bit of a blood bank, I’m afraid. But Nyx… my brother… They’re both good people. They would never take advantage of you. Now, imagine if it were someone like _Niles_ …” He shudders. “Not healthy. Not… not good. However…” He darkens, glaring at the fresh scar on her neck. “It’d be better if you didn’t give your blood out so willingly.”

“I-I can’t promise that,” she says carefully, and he scowls. “I-It’s my job t-to make sure t-that everybody is h-h-healthy.”

“True, but you don’t see anybody else doing the same thing, do you?” He counters.

“Y-yes… b-but Elise i-is a v-v-vampire… a-a-and Felicia doesn’t h-heal full time. I-I’m the main h-healer, so i-it should be my duty-”

“-and if you have to spend a week in the medical tent because of blood loss? What happens _then_?”

“W-well-”

“You’ve got to _stop_ this, Sakura! It’s _not_ going to work!” He snaps, and she shrinks away. He sighs, turns his gaze the floor, and lowers his voice. “I-I’m sorry. I’m not usually this possessive… It’s just…”

He suddenly blushes, staring at his hands. “I… I want to protect you. I want to claim you, make you _mine_ , and I don’t even know why. But when… when I think of people touching you, _using_ you like that…” His voice becomes quieter, softer, and he continues to turn redder and redder. “It makes me mad. Furious.”

“Oh…” Sakura reaches for her neck, brushing her fingers over the two punctures in her skin. It still tingles from his bite, and she remembers how it felt with Nyx-soft, quick, flat. Nothing. And Xander-he was so professional, so… cold. Strange how much they differed...

_This is how vampires say “I love you.”_

She flushes. _No_. It’s stupid, thinking of something so _sentimental_ , it must be the lack of sleep talking, it doesn’t _matter_ whether she may or may not have a small crush-and _only_ a crush-

“You’d better get some sleep. We’ll continue this conversation tomorrow.” His voice startles her out of her thoughts and she nods energetically, then promptly yawns.

“I’ll take of care of m-myself,” she promises, and he softens, even smiling for a moment before standing up.

“Good. Here, let me help you.” She rubs her eyes, yawns again, and he proceeds to sweep her into his arms, carrying her out of the room, through the halls, and all the way across to her room-and she’s _so_ tired, and he’s _so_ warm, and she can almost imagine that this is normal, with her head on his chest and his arms surrounding her-

(and was it just her imagination, or did she actually feel his lips on her forehead, his hair brushing against her cheeks, his hands on her waist? She doesn’t remember, but she falls asleep with a smile on face.)

**Author's Note:**

> I still hate you ending  
> just saying  
> also my sister said that "what if werewolf blood tasted like barbeque" so just take note of that


End file.
